The Grammy award-winning duo Basement Jaxx is back and offering up a plethora of heavy beats and solid mashup. Nearly impossible to describe, the band’s sound combines elements from almost every genre, something which no other artist can deliver. Scars, Basement Jaxx’s latest album, proves refreshing in today’s monotonous music scene.
Basement Jaxx, a house duo originally from the United Kingdom, consists of DJs Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, and has a reputation for their cutting edge work. The duo has several international hits including “Where’s Your Head At?” featured in the film “Tomb Raider.” The music video for “Where’s Your Head At?” also helped put the band on the map as it features monkeys with human faces superimposed on them. In 2005, Basement Jaxx also received a Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album for their record Kish Kash.
Collaborating with several artists such as Kelis, Sam Sparro, Yo! Majesty and Yoko Ono, the majority of Basement Jaxx’s tracks are fortunately able to find strong vocals to float over their heavy beats and rhythms. The song “Twerk,” featuring hip hop group Yo! Majesty, puts a new twist to Michael Sembello’s hit “Maniac,” as the lyrics, “Maniac, maniac on that floor/ She’s dancing like she’s never danced before” are interspersed between rap styling and techno pulsation.
Each track on Scars holds its own, and if released separately they could all become hits. In a world where musicians are known for how far they climb on the music charts, this proves a great accomplishment. “Raindrops,” the first single released from Scars is no exception. The single starts out with the duo themselves singing along to a simple synthetic beat before breaking into a mind-blowing chorus pounding with bass. With sensual lyrics such as “You taste so good, on my lips/ Your moisture drips upon my lips/ Just like a waterfall/ Straight through the heart of me” and a slightly erotic, trippy music video, Basement Jaxx certainly built up hype for Scars.
The song “Scars” (featuring Kelis among other artists) is a nice preview of what the rest of the album sounds like. The beat is amazing, full of texture and sonic echoes with gliding vocals singing, “Kiss me then I’ll wake up.” Holding the power to sway masses to their beat, it will be nearly impossible to find anyone who can resist this first track.
“Feelings Gone,” the second single released from Scars features Sam Sparro, a Grammy nominated artist best known for “Black and Gold.” Sparro’s vocals start out as the focal point of the song, showcasing his strong voice over the top of opening orchestral sounds, before building up into a crushing chorus. Sure to be a hit, “Feelings Gone,” is yet another outstanding promotion.
Scars is, however, not as innovative as past albums, and instead seems to steal from them. It is also missing the interludes common in previous albums, not really giving listeners a break in between songs to absorb what they have just listened to and prepare for what’s next. The music on Scars is almost overwhelming on a first listen and it is only through several listens that everything begins to mesh correctly, instead of sounding like a cacophony of thrashing beats, relentless rhythms, and reverberating echoes.
Besides leaving the listener wanting a bit more, Basement Jaxx’s new album would be an excellent addition to anyone’s music library.
4 ? stars out of 5.
